No, you do not have to facilitate conversation after every song. Participants vary in their desire or ability to talk. If the participant is resistant to talking, follow the client's lead, move onto the next song and let the music do the work for you.

Be Patient: In most cases, if given time, participants will open up after a few weeks of sessions. Music often inspires reminiscence automatically and so you do not need to push conversation.

If you are having trouble facilitating conversation, consider using one of the following strategies:

Go to 10:08 of Module 3: Starting the Session and the RePEAAT Protocol and rewatch the section on how to facilitate conversation.

Check out page 2 of the Protocol Reference Guide. Here you will find examples of various questions you can ask your participant after a song.

Match the difficulty of the question with the participant’s abilities/needs so they are consistently successful.

Give us a call. Our music therapy team can walk you through additional techniques, such as self-disclosure and strategic silence, to facilitate conversation.

We generally don’t recommend the use of lyric sheets because the academic process of reading can reduce musical engagement. More importantly, individuals with cognitive decline often struggle with the ability to read; the use of lyric sheets can be a reminder of their deficits and cause agitation.

If a participant requests lyric sheets, it is typically because they either are having difficulty hearing the music or because they are used to having lyrics in their hands when they sing. Consequently:

Check the volume: Please make sure that the volume tracks for the lyric coach and guide singer in the app as well as the speaker are turned up, and that the speaker is placed close to the participant. If the speaker is positioned closer to you, you may think the music is louder than it really is.

Use songs the participant is successful with: Given that the request for lyric sheets may be more out of habit or comfort/familiarity rather than necessity, we don’t recommend providing them. Lyric sheets often end up as more of a distraction than legitimate support for engagement. Instead, we recommend focusing on playing songs that the participant has more success with. As they feel more successful, their confidence will increase and their desire for lyric sheets will decrease.

If your participant continues to request the use of lyric sheets, you are welcome to provide them.

Participants may ask this question if they are not used to spending extended 1:1 session time. This question is NOT a reflection that the participant is having a bad time or that they want to stop SingFit STUDIO sessions.

Try saying the following:

• “I thought you might enjoy listening to some of these songs and I wanted to see what you think of them.”

• “I wanted to share some music with you to see what kind of songs you like.”

If your participant starts talking during the song, and is completely ignoring the music, you may want to slowly turn down the volume of the speaker so conversation is not confusing and you can focus on what they’re saying. Then resume with the next song or repeat the same song.

Participants’ engagement with singing varies depending on the individual as well as the session number. It can take a participant a few weeks before they feel comfortable enough to sing along to the music. If you give the participant time and let the music do the work, the participant’s engagement with singing will often increase over time.

If the participant’s favorites playlist is not producing high levels of engagement overall, observe and use the songs within the list that are producing the most singing, movement, or conversation. Even if the engagement is subtle, start the next handful of sessions with the songs that are most engaging. With repetition of these songs, you should see an increase in engagement over time. You may also need to explore additional playlists in the app with the participant to find more engaging songs to add to their favorites list.

If the participant is still not very engaged, ask yourself the following questions. If you answer no to any of those questions, consider making an adjustment. If you answered yes to all those questions, please give us a call!

• Are you using an external speaker? Is it positioned close to them? Is the volume loud enough? Is the lyric coach turned up? (Playing music at a loud enough volume can be important in creating an environment in which the participant is comfortable enough to sing. If participants can hear their own voice over the music, sometimes they become self-conscious.)

• Are you singing louder than the patient? Are you, the facilitator, singing along?

• Are you empowering the participant? Are you letting your participant pick the songs?

• Have you explored other playlists, besides their Age-Based playlist, with the participant? If you know any of their musical preferences, have you looked through the relevant genre or artist-specific playlists with them? (i.e. Country, R&B, Legendary Lads and Ladies, etc)

Wait two to seven days before mentioning the music again, then pick a time of day when they're in a good mood and introduce the app to them as if it’s the first time you’ve brought it up. We recommend greeting them normally and then saying the following: “I have some music that I would like to share with you. Would you mind if I show it to you?” We specifically recommend the phrase “I have music to share” or “music to listen to” rather than “music to sing.” We recommend you avoid the word “sing” because while many older adults with dementia will sing along to their favorite songs as the music is flowing, those same individuals may hear the word singing and become intimidated. Also we typically don’t recommend explaining the benefits of singing to your participant because some older adults are embarrassed about their state of cognitive decline and may be resistant to any activity that implies they aren’t a typically functioning individual.

Some older adults need a little encouragement to try a new activity. If they're still hesitant, you can say: “I thought you might like it and wanted to see what you’d think. Is now a good time?” If they indicate they don't want to check out the music at that time, don’t force it. Pick another time in the next few days when you think they'd be more open to the idea and try again.

At a high level, during a SingFit STUDIO session, you will:

• Introduce your participant to the SingFit music app

• Invite the participant to choose familiar songs from the 1920s - 1970s to listen to

• Engage your participant in singing songs and sharing stories inspired by the music

• Watch the instructional videos to learn how to implement these steps correctly to produce therapeutic outcomes.

Other Age-Based Playlists: Start by trying some of the other Age-Based playlists above or below the participant's age. Depending on their stage of cognitive decline and the music their parents/siblings listened to, the songs in other age-based playlists may be more familiar to them.

Legendary Lads and Legendary Ladies playlists: These playlists include songs by some of the most famous artists like Aretha Franklin, Doris Day, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, etc.

Song Catalog Categories: If you’d like to explore more songs within a genre, you can also click on “Song Catalog” and use the dark red banner to scroll to the right. These genre playlists include all the songs in our app within that genre, not just the biggest hits. Here you will also find Era-Based Playlists. These playlists include songs released during that era.

Call us or email us - we would love to help you find more songs or make note of your specific requests for new songs!